


Overworked

by LetSomSleep



Series: Kingdom Hearts Drabbles [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Drabble, Dream Eater Riku, Gen, Mentioned Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Mickey means well, Riku isn't handling things so good, Short One Shot, Soriku - Freeform, post kh3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27845485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetSomSleep/pseuds/LetSomSleep
Summary: Riku has been overworking himself since Sora vanished. With Kairi asleep trying to find answers, he takes it upon himself to do as much as possible on his end to try tracking any leads. Everything weighs on him heavily, and he reflects on it all.
Relationships: Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Kingdom Hearts Drabbles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038312
Kudos: 25





	Overworked

**Author's Note:**

> A small drabble practice thing to try getting into writing finally. Riku is very tired.

" _You're not going with me._ "

He hadn't expected to be on the receiving end of those words. Although he knew they were meant with care and concern, he can't help the rising pang of bitterness and betrayal in his chest, how his heart clenches almost painfully as he grits his teeth together to hold his tongue. He was better than those feelings, he just had to calm down, relax...

"You can come next time, okay Riku? For now, you should focus on recovering. We still have the others keeping an eye out and looking around, so if anything does come up, we'll let you know immediately."

He can barely hear the words. It feels like he’s hearing it through a head full of cotton, distant and fuzzy. It takes him a moment, but he manages to refocus his attention as he glances over at Mickey, before dropping his gaze with a small tired huff. He trusts the King, and he has to remember to keep his emotions in check, to not let them control his actions in that moment when his friend was just looking out for him. After all, he had a point... They had been looking for months now, and so far any possible leads had been practically non-existent. If anything were to show up, it wasn't likely to pop up the moment Riku took some time to rest.

He knows that Mickey means well, that it makes sense for him to stay back and rest--- especially following the last incident where he had collapsed from exhaustion while accompanying Terra on a mission to one of the worlds Sora had travelled to. He had been running himself ragged the last few months, assisting as much as possible with searching for his missing friend. He rarely allowed himself the luxury of sleep, even with the newfound knowledge that his dreams held the apparent 'key' to finding the lost Keyblade wielder.

Although it reignited their hopes at having something to go off in finding Sora, the only issue was he was terrified to sleep.

Even before Sora had vanished, Riku had struggled with sleeping; finding his dreams were full of recurring themes of regret and guilt, of his friends realizing he wasn't worth the effort of keeping around. Some of the more haunting nightmares had revolved around Sora or Kairi, sometimes even Mickey himself, 'coming to their senses' and attacking him, stating how he was a threat, dragging up his old actions back from when he had been colluding with Maleficent and Ansem.

They left him fearful of sleeping, not wanting to risk reliving the past anymore than he had to already. At least when Sora was here, he could find respite in his dreams, fending off the other boys nightmares and making sure he slept in peace until dawn. But that was then...

Swallowing slowly, he keeps his gaze pinned to the ground, avoidant, catching sight of Mickey's shoes as he moves in closer, patting a gloved hand against one of Riku's clenched fists at his side, causing the Islander to jolt a bit in surprise. He clears his throat, rubbing sheepishly at his neck with his free hand as he apologizes for his overall reaction. "I know, _I know..._ I just---"

He rubs at his eyes with the palm of his hand, trying his best to fight the telltale sting of tears forming, not wanting to show vulnerability. He didn't want to prove that they were right to bench him, despite knowing they had valid reason to. He feels a reassuring pat against his arm, grounding him back in the present and away from his spiraling thoughts as he shakes his head with a defeated sigh. Maybe he did need to rest. He couldn't keep pouring from an empty cup; it wouldn't help anyone in the long run if he was constantly on the brink of collapsing all the time.

"Just... promise you'll call if anything comes up, okay?"


End file.
